Various applications provide restrictions on user access and user access protocols for a number of reasons. User access is restricted in order to protect sensitive data, value in an account, etcetera. User access protocols are adopted wherein individual users are assigned accounts for accessing such applications. Such accounts typically define the application features and functions available to the user, restrictions (e.g., time restrictions, monetary restrictions, etcetera) on the user's use of the application, and/or the like.
Postage printing applications, providing user control and access to postage value for generating and printing postage indicia, are one example of applications wherein accounts are implemented to control user access. Online postage generation and printing is provided through the use of secure postal servers having crypto vaults for storing postage credit. Postal clients, uniquely configured to implement the security protocols of the secure postal servers, allow a user to remotely access a postal server and perform functions with respect to a postage meter account, such as query a balance, add postage value, and deduct postage value and generate a postage indicia. Accordingly, user access to such secure postal servers is tightly controlled and generally implement extensive, often proprietary, security protocols.
Online stores, such as a postal supply store, providing user access to product and service catalogues and ordering, is another example of applications wherein accounts are implemented to control user access. Online ordering of products and services is provided through the use of servers providing an electronic cart or basket associated with a unique account. Because payment for purchased products and services is also provided online, such systems typically implement security protocols, such as standardized security protocols available using widely available clients such as web browsers.
From the above, it can be seen that a user may have multiple accounts, perhaps associated with different applications. For example, a particular user may have a postal account for generating and printing postage online and a store account for selecting and purchasing supplies. Accordingly, the user may be required to remember multiple account access criteria (e.g., multiple user names, passwords, etcetera).
Moreover, although such accounts may be related in some way, such as a postal account for printing postage and a postal store account for ordering postal supplies, the security or other access requirements may be very different. For example, the security requirements for an online postal printing application often require storing credentials in a client registry and/or other features to provide a very high level of security or to meet postal requirements, and thus often utilize a proprietary client. In contrast, although providing for secure access and communication, online stores generally implement open standards based security protocols, such as to promote ready access to the general public. Thus, even somewhat related accounts will by necessity be separate and isolated from one another, often requiring different clients for user access, requiring different credentials, etcetera.
For example, a user may be required to remember credentials (e.g., passwords) unique to each account, particularly in the case where the credential requirements by different applications are different (e.g., password length, alphanumeric requirements, etcetera). Even where different applications adopt similar credentials requirements, a user may not be able to use the same credentials for each account. For example, although a user has a particular user name with respect to a account associated with a first application, this user name may have already been in use with respect to another application and thus not be available for the user for a account associated with that application.
In addition to remembering and managing credentials unique to each account, users must also create, manage, and update the account information for the multiple accounts individually. For example, user profile information (e.g., user name, address, phone number, etcetera) will often be required with respect to each account, and thus must be repeatedly input and updated by the user for each account. Similarly, payment information, such as credit card number and expiration date will typically need to be input and updated for each account.
Like the information provided by the user with respect to multiple accounts, the information provided to the user will be separate and independent, even for somewhat related accounts. For example, reports showing the account activity (e.g., purchases made, payments made, etcetera), will only be available separately for each account.
Moreover, even where the applications associated with a particular user's accounts are provided or supported by a same vendor, supporting that user is complicated by the fact that the user has multiple sets of credentials for accessing the accounts. For example, when calling customer support to resolve an issue which touches on several applications, the user will need to provide the customer support representative with information about each such account. In order to resolve the problem, the customer support representative may need to separately access each such account. It can be readily appreciated that the foregoing will require additional time and will result in a diminished user experience.
Not only do the foregoing separate accounts for applications provided by a same vendor result in customer support issues, but the vendor itself may not be able to correlate the various activities or behavior of the user. For example, a vendor may be unable to correlate a particular user's activity with respect to one account to that same user's activity with respect to another account, although the vendor may have visibility into each such account separately. Accordingly, marketing opportunities and the ability to collect robust information with respect to user behavior system wide may be missed.
The foregoing problems are exasperated as new services or applications are added. For example, a new user base would be created for the new service, having associated user credentials, profiles, etcetera, which is separate and isolated from the other existing user bases.